Introduction to Computer Science
Course ID: 01:198:111
Learning from Classroom Instruction
• To prepare for each class, read the posted slide presentations to get a general idea of the topic being taught. The presentations are usually linked on the CS111 Rutgers website under “Lectures.”
• To help strengthen your understanding of the concepts, take notes while reading the slides and revise/edit them as you follow along with the lecture.
• Some students use their computers to take notes, as there may be coding involved. Taking notes alongside the lines of code can help help with understanding each step of the process.
• CS111 lectures usually occur in large classrooms, so it helps to sit toward the front of the class and pay attention to the lecturer. Asking questions is highly recommended, as certain concepts can be tricky to understand. It is vital to your future success in and beyond CS111 to have a solid foundation of these concepts.
Learning for and from Assignments
• There are usually 8-9 assignments that need to be completed over the course of the semester. These assignments are in Java, and you will be using VSCode which is an open-source code editor used to complete your assignments. You will then submit it to a website called AutoLab.
• These assignments will test your technical understanding of the concepts you learned in class. Since the assignments can take some time to complete, appropriate time is factored into the deadline, but you should start as early as possible to maximize success.
• Students can use various resources to receive help for these assignments. For example, Piazza, is a question forum where students can ask questions anonymously and receive answers from their peers and CS111 professors.
• Additional resources available for drop-in questions include Teaching Assistant (TA) extra help hours and the Coding and Social Lounge (CSL) at the Busch Student Center. RUCATS is a tutoring service available 80 hours a week exclusively for CS111 and CS112 students to help students with their assignments.
Preparing and Studying for Exams
• To help solidify concepts, and study effectively for midterms and final exams, review lecture slideshows, your own notes, and coding concepts covered.
• Another way to prepare is to use past exams to get a sense of the types of questions that can be expected. Exams can include multiple choice and open ended questions, as well as coding questions which will test your ability to write method(s) on paper. You can check your answers against the posted solutions. Past exams and solutions can be found on the CS111 Rutgers website under the “Exams” tab. Bring any questions from these tests to lecture, office hours, and/or recitation.
• You can also review the topics that will be tested, room assignments, and exam times.
• Attend Teaching Assistant (TA) and professor office hours to get your questions answered or to review certain concepts. You can find their schedule of availability on the CS111 Rutgers website https://introcs.cs.rutgers.edu/exams/ under the “Staff” tab.
Helpful External Resources
• Key resources for this course include the lecture and recitation slideshows. These slides illustrate concepts visually, through diagrams, and excerpts of sample coding.
• To practice your coding, you can utilize external coding practice websites like LeetCode and HackerRank. These applications allow you to practice specific topics by giving you a problem that you have to code. You can use the provided hints as well as check the solution for extra help.
• Video instructional exercises like YouTube videos and Codecademy are helpful for gaining understanding of specific concepts.
• Utilizing recitation to reinforce concepts taught in lecture is also a valuable resource. During this time, you will review what is taught in lecture by a Teaching Assistant (TA) and then work in collaborative groups to do practice exercises.
• Piazza is another tool for asking questions regarding assignments, labs, or general questions on material covered in class. These questions can be posted anonymously and will be answered by CS111 faculty and peers.